COURSES AND TEACHERS

CONTEMPORARY DANCE

Contemporary dance invites you to approach physicality, movement, mind and thinking in a new way. In the course, we travel to the connection between the subconscious and movement technology - we dive into the secrets of deep joy, intuition, silliness, wildness, transgression, liberation and fantastical whims. Just think of all things fun and extraordinary that emerge when the body comes out of the body in the most different forms, minds, aesthetics, colors, events, situations, temperaments, both as a subjective and collective experience! Through various improvisational and sustained imaginations that sensitize the anatomy and connect to physicality, we approach the remarkable psychodynamics of the body, form our own special dances and parties of physicality, alone and together. The course also uses different materials as lovers of the body and imagination.

Elina Pirinen is an internationally working and award-winning artist who lives in Helsinki and on the shore of Lake Kalliojärvi. Her artistic practice and language are intertwined with choreography, dance, sounds, composing, experimental writing and pedagogy. At the core of the artistic vision and technique is to look for physical, vocal, linguistic and on-stage dissections and forms of apparel for precognitive moods, feminist libidinal power and intelligence through them. Her works have been performed around the world.
Pirinen regularly works as a visiting pedagogue at the Uniarts Helsinki’s Theater Academy, the Degree Programme in Theatre Arts at the University of Tampere and the Zodiak New Dance Center. Pirinen makes art rock music with her ten-member orchestra Al2Be3, and does volunteer work with animal protection.

Photo: Venla Helenius

EXPERIMENTAL VISUAL AND HANDICRAFT ART

During the course, we get to know different materials and create three-dimensional objects using different visual and handicraft production methods, such as painting, sculpting, crafting and sewing. The aim of the course is the wide application of recycled materials and techniques and creative problem solving. We learn to observe and think about new things through imaginative creation and making things with our hands.

Jouko Korkeasaari is a visual artist whose stage name is Muotikummitus. In his art, he wants to question the absurd consumption habits of textiles and try new ways to extend the useful life of recycled clothes. This gave him the idea to create unique wearable works of art from surplus materials and flea market finds using different art and craft techniques under the name Muotikummitus (Fashion Ghost). He does everything himself, from designing to making the outfits, and finally documents the final results with a photo. Photodocumentaries form their own independent works of art that explore many overlapping themes such as alternative subcultures, art history, fashion and gender.

CONTACT

We practice creating contact and being affected by contact with the co-performer, sound, space and various materials. We observe the emergence of personal psychophysical reactions and expression in various contact situations, and we practice techniques for controlling these reactions and expression, e.g. in the performance situation.

Samuli Nordberg is a choreographer, director, university lecturer, actor and dancer. He works at the University of Tampere as a university lecturer in acting, and in the free field as a dance artist and instructor. During his career, Nordberg has directed and/or choreographed more than 30 shows and performed in more than 40. Since 2011, the object of his artistic interest has been particularly collective site-specific, multimedia and immersive performances.

CREATIVE WRITING

In the course, many fun and serious tasks related to creative writing, both experimental and classical are done, and language and writing are introduced through various references. The course aims to provide tools for writing and support everyone's unique and special writing style.

Heidi Väätänen is a writer and dramaturge living in Helsinki. Her passion is currently in the linguistics of language and the unexpected genre hybrids of literature. Her debut novel Chloé S:n sanakirja (Chloé S’s Dictionary) was published in the spring of 2022. Alongside writing, she has made multidisciplinary art, especially in the field of contemporary dance, for instance with choreographers Elina Pirinen and Karolina Ginman. In addition to her artistic work, she has taught dramaturgy, writing and stage thinking at Theatre Academy and Sukset Ristiin Susirajalla Summer Academy of Multidisciplinary Art.

Photo: Maija Astikainen

STREET DANCE / FREESTYLE

In the classes, we party to the rhythm of bass-driven music, dance and sweat together, and deepen our own way of moving, and feeling our movement and music. The lessons are based on freestyle hip hop dance, we go through hip hop party dance steps, grooves and the history of the sport. In addition, the classes also cover the basic waacking dance technique and its history. The main focus is on doing, experiencing and enjoying together.

Kaisa Nieminen is a dancer, choreographer and rap artist. Her dance background is
in street dancing; mainly in hip hop and waacking. This background is reflected in her
artistic work and her relationship with movement. She did her Master’s in Choreography at the Inter-University for Dance Berlin (HZT) in 2019. Kaisa belongs to a rap group called Pimeä Hedelmä.
Her latest artistic works include the collective works Kemppainen, Nieminen, Peura - and then they left (2021), Rutimo collective - Lemons (2021), a dark post-midsummer night's dream (2021) together with Pimeä Hedelmä band and queer art duo Amanda & Lydia. As part of her artistic activity, Nieminen tries to reflect on her status, privileges and responsibilities both in hip hop culture and as a white dance artist working in the art dance field.